Tonight, Common and N.E.R.D. — an acronym for “No one Ever Really Dies” — will fill Reynolds Coliseum not with folk music nor country music nor rock music.
The artists will bring something to Reynolds that hasn’t made an appearance there since 2004: hip-hop.
Common and N.E.R.D. — composed of Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shae Haley — are swinging through campus between stops on their national tours to play the Pack Howl concert, scheduled to begin tonight at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are available for $15 through the Alumni Association Web page and at the doors.
If you’re unfamiliar with either of these artists, take a few moments to listen to a few songs that encompass their musical range.
Common
The Food — Featuring Kanye West, the song maintains a steady rhythm — it also features the piano — Common does what he’s known best for: taking experience from his life and that of others, whether it’s pretty or not, and transforming it into something that vaguely resembles poetry on steroids.
Forever Begins — This song rounds off his newest album release and although the beat is faint in the background, it gets progressively louder. Although the lyrics here aren’t his strongest, he still gets his point across. And for Common, weak lyrics are some other artist’s strongest. I Used To Love H.E.R. — One of Common’s most well-known songs, it chronicles the life of a man and his relationship with a woman. The beat’s catchy but appropriate for the lyrics — it slows and stops for emphasis at his most sanguine messages.
Between Me, You & Liberation — From the 2002 album “Electric Circus,” the song strings together stories from people’s lives, one about a woman raped by her father, one about his own aunt and one about a gay friend worried about coming out to his family. The lyrics are strong and introspective — essential Common.
N.E.R.D.
Anti-Matter — It’s catchy, it’s witty, it’s entertaining. And that’s what N.E.R.D. is. It’s an entertainment group that couldn’t function without its beats — its strange and addictive lyrics serve only to give listeners something to sing along to. It’s not thought-provoking material, but that doesn’t matter so much when the beat compels you to dance.
Lapdance — Classic N.E.R.D. The song has a gritty beat, and for those of you gearing up for the election, listen closely to the lyrics.
She Wants to Move — One of the most popular singles, the beat epitomizes the type of rhythm the band has basically patented and mass-reproduced on its albums.
Everyone Nose — With as much as Pharrell repeats the chorus, you’ll be singing “All the girls standing in the line for the bathroom” for at least a few days. The song has the potential to get ingrained in the back of your mind — when it’s not playing loudly in the front — and stick there.
